Atiku: ASUU strike threat exposes fraud in subsidy removal

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said the renewed threat of industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has exposed what he described as the “fraud” behind the Federal Government’s justification for removing fuel subsidy.

Atiku made the assertion in a statement issued on Sunday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu.

He said the government had justified the removal of subsidy on the grounds that funds saved would be redirected to education, healthcare, infrastructure and other essential services.

However, Atiku questioned why university lecturers were still raising concerns over unpaid entitlements and unresolved agreements while public universities continued to face inadequate funding and infrastructure challenges.

“If the subsidy is gone and Nigerians have paid for that decision through unprecedented hardship, then President Tinubu owes the country a simple answer: where is the money?” Atiku asked.

The former vice president said Nigerians had continued to bear the consequences of subsidy removal through higher fuel prices, transportation costs, food prices, energy bills and school fees without seeing corresponding improvements in public services.

He said the renewed threat of an ASUU strike had further exposed the gap between the government’s claims and the situation in the country’s universities.

“The house of cards of falsehoods erected by the Tinubu administration to justify the suffering of Nigerians is collapsing before our eyes,” he said.

Atiku said the government had removed the “cushion” provided by fuel subsidy without providing adequate social protection for Nigerians facing the resulting economic pressures.

He described the university crisis as particularly troubling, given the government’s repeated claims that increased revenues and allocations following subsidy removal would improve public services.

“More than three years later, lecturers are still raising concerns about unpaid salaries and unresolved agreements. ASUU is again warning of industrial action. University infrastructure remains inadequate, while millions of young Nigerians compete every year for limited admission spaces,” he said.

Atiku also questioned claims that subsidy savings had resulted in increased allocations to state governments, asking why public education remained under pressure if substantially more funds were available to the states.

“Government officials repeatedly tell Nigerians that subsidy savings have translated into larger allocations to states. But if substantially more money is supposedly flowing to the states, why has the condition of public education not improved accordingly?” he asked.

He said the crisis was not limited to federal universities, noting that some state-owned universities had also experienced industrial disputes and disruptions.

According to him, the situation reflects a broader challenge in the funding and management of tertiary education across Nigeria.

Atiku also criticised the administration’s student loan policy, arguing that the rising cost of living had made it increasingly difficult for families to finance university education.

“This government removed subsidy, increased the cost of transportation, food and virtually every other necessity, and watched the cost of university education rise beyond the reach of many families,” he said.

He questioned the rationale for providing student loans after government policies had increased the financial burden on households.

“What kind of reform first empties a family’s pocket and then offers the child a loan to survive the hardship government helped create?” he asked.

The former vice president also raised concerns about the capacity of Nigerian universities to accommodate the country’s growing youth population.

He questioned where new classrooms, laboratories, hostels and other teaching facilities were being provided to meet the increasing demand for university education.

“You cannot raise the cost of education, leave infrastructure inadequate, fail to settle lecturers’ legitimate claims, disregard agreements and then congratulate yourself for giving students loans,” Atiku said.

He further accused the administration of demanding sacrifices from ordinary Nigerians while allegedly providing concessions and privileges to powerful interests.

“The poor are told there is no money for subsidy. Students are told to borrow. Lecturers are told to wait. Parents are told to endure,” he said.

Atiku maintained that Nigerians were entitled to accountability over the funds the government said would become available following the removal of fuel subsidy.

He said the government had promised that subsidy removal would free resources for investment in education, healthcare, infrastructure and social welfare, but argued that the situation in universities suggested that the expected benefits had not been fully delivered.

“The sacrifice has been collected from Nigerians in full. The promised benefits have not been delivered in full,” he said.

Atiku urged President Bola Tinubu to explain how the resources freed by subsidy removal had been utilised, repeatedly asking: “Where is the money?”

He said the renewed threat of an ASUU strike, unresolved obligations to university lecturers, inadequate infrastructure and the rising cost of education showed that major challenges facing Nigeria’s tertiary education sector remained unresolved.

“Tinubu removed subsidy from the people, but he has not removed the threat of ASUU strikes. He has not resolved the crisis of unpaid obligations. He has not sufficiently expanded our universities. He has not made education more affordable. And he certainly has not removed the hardship confronting Nigerian families,” Atiku said.